Headgear with stretchable headband

ABSTRACT

The present invention is an article of headwear that is adjustable so as to accommodate a wide range of head sizes comprised of at least a crown portion that substantially covers scalp of the wearer. Proximate the lowest edge of the crown portion is a headband permanently affixed thereto that is stretchable in all directions. The headband is comprised of elastic woven into a diamond like pattern so that it is capable of stretching and returning substantially to its original size. The ends of the band may be attached to each other so as to make a complete circumference around the lowest edge of the crown portion of the headgear.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to caps worn on the head. In particular, it relates to adjustable caps that can be worn by users having heads of varying circumferences.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Headgear comes in various forms and sizes and include, but is not limited to, baseball caps, visors, hats with rims, beanies, etc. which are pre-sized to fit certain circumferences of heads or are adjustable so that they can be worn by persons having heads of various circumferences. Adjustable headgear may incorporate a mechanism that may be located at the back edge thereof proximate the nape of the neck of the wearer when it is worn which can adjust the size of the lower circumference of the portion that surrounds the head. For example, a common means of adjusting the size of a baseball type cap may employ a cut out area located proximate the nape of the neck and have a variable length overlapping plastic straps on each side of the cut out area which may be attached to each other according to the desired circumference of the cap. One of the straps may include a plurality of protrusions and the corresponding other strap may include a plurality of corresponding holes. By snapping at least one of the protrusions into at least one of the apertures, the circumference of the cap may be adjusted. Alternatively, the cap may have a buckle at the back thereof which may be loosened or tightened depending on the desired circumference. Yet another alternative is the use of straps having hook and loops thereon located on opposite sides of the cutout area.

More recently, caps may incorporate headbands or sweatbands that are attached to the inside lower edge of the main portion of the cap. Some of these headbands are complicated to manufacture and are unnecessarily bulky. The headbands also are not stretchable in all directions as one of more layers thereof restrict the expandability. Further, because some headbands are formed solely of material, they deform over time. It is an object of the present invention to provide headgear that overcomes some or all of the construction and bulkiness of the prior art headgear while still reducing the number of headgear necessary for a supplier to carry due to the adjustability of the headgear of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is an article of headwear that is adjustable so as to accommodate a wide range of head sizes. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an article of headgear is comprised of at least a crown portion that substantially covers scalp of the wearer. In some embodiments, the headgear also may have a substantially rigid curved visor portion extending from the front of the crown portion so as to shade all or part of the wearer's face. Proximate the lowest edge of the crown portion is a headband permanently affixed thereto. In an embodiment of the present invention, the headband is comprised of elastic which is woven in a diagonal pattern so that it is more evenly stretchable in all directions. In an embodiment, the elastic is woven in a essentially uniform diamond patterned elongated band. In a preferred embodiment, the headband is attached to the crown portion of the headgear along the elongated edge thereof. In all embodiments of the present invention, the ends of the headband may be attached together so as to make a complete circumference around the lowest edge of the crown portion of the headgear and the end seam of the headband may be covered by a label so as not to be visible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A detailed description of the invention will be made with reference to the accompanying drawing and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cap in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following descriptions of the invention, terms such as “top”, “bottom,” first “end” and second “end”, “horizontal”, “longitudinal”, and the like are used herein merely for ease of description and refer to the orientation of the components shown in the figure. Further, the figure herein is not drawn to scale and should be considered to present an illustration of various embodiments of the present invention. Some features of the invention may have been distorted or enlarged to facilitate an understanding of the invention. The same reference numbers in the drawings are used for similar or identical components.

Generally, the present invention may be briefly described as follows. Referring first to FIG. 1, a cap using the features and advantages of the present invention is shown. It should be understood that while a baseball cap is shown, the invention applies to all headgear that has a crown portion covering either all or part of the scalp portion of the head. As such, the invention applies to hats with visors, visors without total scalp covering, baseball caps, etc.

The baseball cap 10 comprises a crown portion 12 fabricated so that it substantially fits over the crown of a wearer's head. In a preferred embodiment the crown portion has a lower peripheral edge 14 and a visor 16 extending from the front peripheral edge of the crown portion 12 so as to substantially shade the face and/or the eye area of the person wearing the cap 10 when the cap is properly placed upon the head. A headband 18 extends around the entire peripheral opening 14 of the crown portion 12 and is affixed to the crown portion 12 such that it is fully located within the crown portion 12 as shown in FIG. 1. The crown portion 12 may be fabricated from several gores, which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, comprise gores 20 a, 20 b, 20 c, 20 e, and 20 f that are made of either synthetic or natural materials, such as polyesters, cotton, woven and non-woven material, felt, cotton with spandex, and other similar stretchable or non-stretchable materials. In addition, the gores may be made entirely or partially out of material that allows airflow to the scalp of the wearer. The number of gores 20 comprising the crown portion is dependent on the size of the final crown 12, the size of the gore, and the tensile strength of the material being used. In an embodiment, the gores contain one or more air holes 22 to allow the escape of air and moisture through the crown portion 12. In an embodiment, seam tape or other material is used to cover the interior surfaces of the crown 12 where the gores 20 are affixed to each other to hide the seams created by attaching the gores to each other. In an embodiment of the present invention, a button (not shown) is placed upon the spot where the gores 20 converge at the top of the crown 12.

In FIG. 1, the headband 18 of the present invention is shown. Headband 18 is comprised an elongated woven band of elastic yarns wherein the yarns are woven in a diamond or diagonal pattern 19 as shown in the drawing. The diamond or diagonal pattern of the weave of the band allows it to be repeatedly stretched in a longitudinal direction around the head of the wearer and repeatedly to substantially return to its original unstretched position.

The length of the woven band 18 is determined by the maximum size of the inner peripheral edge 14 of cap 10 such that in its fully extended position, the band it is not larger than the maximum size of the inner peripheral edge of cap 20. In one embodiment, the band is approximately 3.3 cm by 60 cm.

The headband 18 is affixed to the peripheral edge of the crown portion of the cap and the peripheral edge of the visor 16 of the cap as shown in FIG. 1 by sewing. It should be noted that other methods of securing the headband 18 to the crown portion 12 and to the visor 16 are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. Also when the headband is affixed to the peripheral edge 14 of crown 12, the ends of the headband are secured together and may be hidden by a label (not shown) so as to prevent binding or discomfort caused by the seam. In a preferred embodiment, the seam is located at the base of the head proximate the neck of the wearer.

The diamond or diagonal weave on the headband 18 of the present invention is capable of stretching in all directions and thus can accommodate a wide range of head sizes.

The presently disclosed embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims, rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. The embodiments and methods described above are exemplary embodiments and methods of the present invention. Those skilled in the art may now make numerous uses of, and departures from, the above-described embodiments and methods without departing from the inventive concepts disclosed herein. Thus, the construction of the embodiments and the steps of the methods disclosed herein are not limitations of the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is to be defined solely by the scope of the following claims. 

1. An article of headgear capable of adjusting to the size of the wearer's head, comprising: a crown portion having a peripheral edge, a headband comprising elastic threads woven into a band in a diamond pattern; whereby the headband is stretchably affixed to the peripheral edge of the crown so that it is located within the crown portion.
 2. The article of claim 1, further comprising a visor which is fixed to the front of the crown portion proximate the front peripheral edge, whereby the headband is affixed to the portion of the visor proximate the peripheral edge of the visor where the crown portion is attached to the visor.
 3. The article of claim 1, further comprising a label whereby when the first and second ends of the headband are affixed to each other and the seam created thereby is concealed by a label affixed thereover.
 4. A baseball hat comprising: a crown portion having a peripheral edge; a visor having a first edge; a headband comprised of elastic woven together in a diamond pattern into a band; whereby the headband is stretchably affixed to the peripheral edge of the crown and the first edge of the visor.
 5. The article of claim 4, further comprising a label whereby when the first and second ends of the headband are affixed to each other and the seam created thereby is concealed by a label affixed thereover. 